How Healthy Are Our Watersheds? Ways to Protect Our Watersheds Stream Buffers Upper Thornton River Watershed Study
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State Water Control Board Agenda 3/15/06Consideration of Petition to Designate the Hazel River as an Exceptional State Water: Staff intends to ask the Board at their March 15, 2006 meeting for a decision on whether or not to initiate a rulemaking to amend the Water Quality Standards regulation to designate the Hazel River from its headwaters to its confluence with the Rappahannock River as an Exceptional State Water. The upper portion of the nominated waterbody [approximately 15 miles] is within Rappahannock County and lower portion [approximately 30 miles] is within Culpeper County. Based on site visits, staff has concluded that only the segment of the Hazel River within Rappahannock County meets the required eligibility criteria. The Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors submitted comment acknowledging that Tier III protection of the Hazel River is consistent with the county Comprehensive Plan, but they oppose the nomination due to concerns of possible future restrictive amended regulations that could adversely impact existing or proposed sewage treatment facilities. The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors commented in support of the nomination. Seventy-nine citizen comments in support of the nomination were received. Twenty-one of them were identified as riparian landowners. Sixteen citizen comments opposing the nomination were received and of these five were identified as riparian landowners. The four staff members that conducted the site visit concurred that the segment of the Hazel River within Rappahannock County met the criteria necessary to be considered for an Exceptional State Waters designation. The segment within Culpeper County did not meet the primary eligibility criteria of possessing an exceptional environmental setting Also, based on an assessment of 2002 data, a 5.58 mile segment in Culpeper County is listed as impaired for recreational uses due to exceedences of the fecal coliform bacteria standard. TENTATIVE AGENDA Convene - 9:30 A.M. Tab I. Minutes (December 7, 2005) A II. Final Regulations General VPDES Permit for Car Wash Facilities Cosby B Water Quality Management Plan – Technical Correction Kennedy C III. Proposed Regulations General VPDES Watershed Permit Regulation for Total Winter D Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus Discharges and Nutrient Trading in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Virginia IV. Regulatory Petitions Hazel River Exceptional State Water Petition Pollock E V. TMDLs Spring Branch Total Phosphorus TMDL, Sussex Co. Seeley F Powell River TMDLs Norton G Russell Prater Creek Total Dissolved Solids and Sediment, Buchanan and Dickenson Counties Straight Creek Total Dissolved Solids, Sediment and Bacteria, Lee Co. Callahan Creek Total Dissolved Solids, Sediment and Bacteria, Wise Co. VI. Permit and Consent Order – Valley Regional Office H Woodstock STP, Shenandoah County Chewning/Fowler VII. Consent Special Orders - Virginia Pollutant Discharge I Elimination System Permits Full text of SWCB agenda (30 pages) is downloadable from http://www.townhall.state.va.us/
Hazel River nominated “Exceptional State Water”
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